Chapter Thirty-Six

  "How strange!" Song Chuoyi let out a light laugh and turned back into the house.

  The bed is comfortable, and I had a good night's sleep.

  The next day, when it was barely light, Wei Nu called out from outside the door, "Sir, it's time to get up."

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, she was half asleep and half awake, not wanting to care about anything. After she became a master, she developed the habit of getting up only when she saw the sun. If it was cloudy on any day, she could sleep for a whole day or even two nights in a daze.

  However, Wei Nu was very patient and after a few moments, she said, "Sir, it's time for you to get up."

  He had called out for over ten times, but still showed no signs of stopping. As soon as Song heard the howling wind outside, he got up with his eyes half-closed and wrapped himself in a quilt to walk to the door. The moment the door opened, a strong gust of wind carrying snowflakes as big as goose feathers suddenly hit him in the face, making Song abruptly wake up.

  That Wei woman was still wearing the outer garment that Song Chuyi had given her in Diqu, shivering in the wind. Song Chuyi's gaze passed over her, but saw a man in white standing on the opposite corridor, with a slender yet not soft build, and a fiery red fox fur draped over his shoulders. Because he was standing in a sheltered spot, his black hair flowed quietly down from behind him, passing through the heavy snowfall, like a thin plum blossom, with an extraordinary and handsome bone structure. It was the person who had played the zither last night.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he deeply felt that if he put away the vulgar expression on his face, his temperament would probably be better.

  "Come in." Song Chuoyi stepped aside to let Wei Nu enter the house, then threw off his quilt and bowed to the person opposite him, saying loudly, "I am Song Chuoyi, courtesy name Huaijin. May I ask who you are?"

  He glanced at her faintly and turned into the snowy ground.

  Song Chu suddenly turned his head, saw Wei Nu's clean face, and suddenly understood why that person made a good gesture but was very disdainful of her. It turned out that they had been looking at the beauty all along!

  "Hmm, interesting." Song ChuYi, despite being disliked, found this gentleman to be quite charismatic.

  Indoors, Wei Nu seemed a bit cramped. Her age was about the same as Song Chu Yi's, but what she felt from him was not the vigor of youth.

  "There are a few sets of women's clothes in the bundle over there, you can take them." Song Chu wrapped herself in the quilt and squatted down at the table, slightly lifting her chin to indicate that Wei girl should go get the bundle placed on the wall corner cabinet.

  Wei Nu responded with a soft "yes" and moved over, holding the bundle in her arms, then moved back. Seeing that Song Chu didn't show any intention of changing clothes, she couldn't help but ask softly, "Does Master need me to assist him in changing?"

  Song Chu did not answer, but instead asked, "Does Zhenzi have a name?"

  "Wei girl's head hung even lower, 'Replying to Mr., I'm Ya. My older sister's name is called Chao.'"

  This Wei woman is polite and modest, mostly from a scholarly family, with such a good name, it's not surprising at the beginning of the Song Dynasty. "Good name, what's your surname?"

  "In front of Master, I dare not mention my surname." Ya said with a bow.

  "But no matter what I say, I saved you two and had no intention of making your sisters slaves." Song Chuoyi leaned against the table with a somewhat lazy expression, her voice also somewhat careless. However, the content of her words made Ya Nian involuntarily raise her head slightly and glance at Song Chuoyi quickly, as if to confirm whether she was sincere or not.

  Soon, Ya replied, "My surname is Zi, and my full name is Gong Sunzi."

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a slightly straightened girl unexpectedly picked up two women who turned out to be daughters of a public house.

  Zi Ya, also known as Gong Sunzi Ya or simply Zi Ya, with the surname of Gong Sun. If there is a given name, then the possible names would be even more numerous.

  Song Chu initially remembered that Zi Ya said she was framed by a treacherous person and her father was harmed, the whole family was made into slaves, presumably the family is no longer around.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, one could not help but rub her hands together. She had lived a life that was too much to bear in her previous life. In this life, heaven treated her well, and as soon as she took action, she picked up two high-ranking, beautiful, and noble-born palace girls who had become slaves. This was much better than just having good looks.

  People with the surname Gong, indicate that they originated from a public house. The so-called public house refers to the family of the princes. This does not necessarily mean that her family dominated a certain country, it is also possible that they continued to use the surname: their family had produced princes in the past.

  In the Spring and Autumn period, there were as many as 800 vassal states, with small countries standing like forests. Although most of them have been destroyed until now, people with the surname Gongsun are absolutely not few.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, among the countries that could be counted on by name, only the Song country had "Zi" as its national surname, but not all those with the surname Zi were members of the royal family. Song Chuanyi secretly made a note in her heart. She didn't have the habit of blindly trusting others, but no matter what was true or false, once it fell into her hands, she wouldn't let it go for nothing.

  In this world, whether there is a distinction between high and low bloodlines, Song initially did not understand, but the women born in the imperial palace naturally received an education that was somewhat different from ordinary scholar-official families' daughters, which made them naturally have a noble temperament.

  "How old are you?" Song asked, suppressing his thoughts and continuing to ask.

  "Zi Ya said, 'I'm fifteen this year, and Ah Jie is sixteen, almost seventeen.'"

  Song nodded and raised his head, looking at me.

  Ziya hesitated for a moment, then lifted her head and looked straight at Song Chuyi. Although Ziya had always tried to be humble as a slave, she was not truly a slave after all, and there was no fear in her eyes.

  "Good." Song Chu initially gave a thumbs up and then slowly said word by word, "The whole family was killed, did Ya Ke ever think of taking revenge?"

  "Think." Zi Ya's mind flashed with many scenes, her father covered in blood, her noble mother brutally violated, hatred burst out but then subsided, tears streaming down her smooth face like a dam breaking, she buried her head in her knees and wept silently, "But I am powerless to bind a chicken, watching my enemy roam free while unable to take revenge."

  Song Chu gazed at her frail and trembling shoulders, saying, "You can. As long as you dare, destroying a person is not difficult. Sometimes the tears of a beauty are more terrifying than the power of a knife. There was once a Daji who brought down a country with just one smile, but when have you ever seen a brave warrior able to defeat thousands of soldiers and horses with his own strength?

  Of course, having a good skin bag is of little use. Not every man is as foolish as King Zhou of Shang, so we must scheme.

  Zi Ya heard this and stopped crying, looking at Song Chu Yi with tears in her eyes, "Sir, teach me!"

  He finished speaking and then prostrated himself before her.

  "I'll help you myself, but I never help others for nothing. You have to help me too." Song Chu said straightforwardly.

  "Even if I am ground into powder, I will never betray." The implication is that no matter what conditions Song Chu put forward, she agreed.

  "Your older sister..."

  Song Chu said four words, and Zi Ya hastily said, "Sir, I can help you in any way, but my sister... My sister is weak and sickly, gentle and kind, she cannot be burdened by hatred, please let her live out the rest of her life in peace."

  Song Chu-yi had once seen Zi Chao, whose appearance was so captivating that even her sickly complexion evoked sympathy. However, her voluptuous figure could only be described by Song Chu-yi with one phrase - breathtaking. In comparison, Zi Ya seemed much less impressive than her sister.

  "You have hatred in your heart, do you think she doesn't? If only you could untie the knot in your heart, it would be fine. Otherwise, just guarding her beautiful face but unable to avenge, is also a kind of torture." Song Chu smoothed out his quilt and sighed, "With today's appearance, if there's no one to rely on, wherever she goes will be like a rootless duckweed."

  This is today's fashion; beautiful women without social status are treated like commodities.

  "Can you be moved by my sister's appearance, sir?" Zi Ya's eyes gleamed brightly.

  Song Chu was speechless with laughter and tears, it turned out that this child had long been prepared, entrusting her own sister to her!

  "I don't ask Master to marry my sister, even if it's just a nominal marriage, I only ask Master to protect my sister for the rest of her life." Zi Ya's only concern was her own sister, and even though she was facing her master at this moment, she couldn't help but seek a reliance for her sister.

  Song Chu stretched out his hand and rubbed his forehead, saying helplessly, "Let me think for a moment."

  Although Ziyue is brave and intelligent, his thinking is still too naive. Even if Song Chuyi was a man, how could he be sure that one day he wouldn't offer Zi Chao to the powerful as a concubine? Even if Song Chuyi loved him dearly, what if some powerful person forcibly took him away?

  Zi Ya thought that Song Chu Yi liked Zi Chao's appearance and wanted to continue speaking, but she saw her slightly raise her hand, signaling her to be quiet.

  In the midst of wind and snow, footsteps came hastily.